Great White Shark Reference Sheet

Classification

Order: Lamniformes (Mackerel Sharks)

Family: Lamnidae (Mackerel Sharks)

Genus and Species: Carcharodon carcharias

Description

Appearance: A sleek, streamlined body, with the topside colored a slaty
blue or leaden gray, and the underside colored dirty white. There is a
black blotch just behind the pectoral fins, but this is not present in
large adults. It has a long, pointed snout and very large jaws which are
home to a number of large triangular teeth, with serrated edges.

Size: White sharks are usually no more than 16 ft long, with the most
common individuals attaining lengths of around 12-15 ft (also, females are
larger than males). However, white sharks have been measured at lengths as
much as 21 ft, and there are a few living today that are around
17-20 ft (there used to be more really big white sharks , but most have been
fished out by
sport anglers). Most of the reports of white sharks longer than 21 ft are
either
exagerated or false, but the possibility isn't all that far fetched, and I
am sure there are some great white sharks in the depths that top these
figures by a few ft.

Environment and Life-Style

Habitat: The white shark is found in most temperate and
tropical coastal waters around the world. It is also recorded in Hawaii
and other mid-ocean islands, but as the white shark is not truly a pelagic
(open ocean) shark, and it was long a mystery how they got out there.
It is now
thought that white sharks are capable of transoceanic trips. White sharks
are most abundant in California, South Africa, and Australia, and this is
helped by the fact that the species is protected in all of the above
places. However, their abundance at said locales may be more because they
are simply reported more often there, thanks to the numerous populations
on the sea.

Food: The white shark starts its life feeding primarily on fish,
and then when it becomes larger, pinnipeds such as sea
lions, seals, and its favourite, the elephant seal become important prey
items (however, large white sharks still feed on a large amount of fish).
Its tooth structure follows this plan, becuase when it is young, it has
sharp, gracile teeth for gripping onto slippery fish; when it is larger and
feeds more on marine
mammals, it develops large, serrated teeth for taking huge bites and
tearing off tough flesh and bone (A 16 ft white shark can take the better
half of one 500lb sea lion in a single gulp). Other prey include penguins,
dolphins, squid, turtles, and other sharks. Less common prey items
include shellfish, and various crustaceans. They
will also scavenge the remains of whales and other marine life.

Relations to Man: The white shark has been implicated in many attacks on
man. Most attacks can be explained by the fact that the white shark
mistakens a person (or a surfboard) as a seal on the surface. Most attacks
are not fatal, and this is probably becuase white sharks actually do
not like human flesh (probably because of low fat content), and after
discovering with the first investigatory bite that
what they thought was a tasty seal (with lots of fat and flesh) turned out
to be nothing but a bony, unappetizing human! Humans usually survive white
shark attacks because the attacks are usually "light" ones with little
flesh removal (possibly because white sharks just aren't sure if a human
or surfer is really a seal and just want to check it out).
However, victims of attack can still bleed to death. Certainly, though, if
white sharks always attacked people as they attack their pinniped prey,
human fatalities would be much higher. Luckily, it seems white sharks can
differentiate between a definite pinniped and a pinniped-shaped surfboard
or human, and don't attack with as much motivation.